A fourth suspect has been arrested and an 18-year-old man is wanted in the shooting that injured two people and sent shoppers scrambling at Manassas Mall in Northern Virginia.
Gunfire broke out in the mall parking lot Tuesday afternoon after a fight inside the food court, Prince William County police said.
Eric Ronaldo Benitez, 22, was arrested Wednesday and charged with two counts of malicious wounding, one count of willfully discharging a firearm in a public place and one count of using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Police are still searching for a fifth suspect, 18-year-old Tayvion Omari Thornton, of Woodbridge.
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Daevon Russell and Joshuah Minas Hernandez, both 18 and from Manassas, were previously arrested and charged with two counts of malicious wounding, shooting at an occupied building and other firearm charges, police said Wednesday.
Skyler James Agley, 23, of Manassas, was arrested and charged with one count of malicious wounding, shooting at an occupied building, willfully discharging a gun in public and using a firearm during a felony.
‘Running and screaming’: Shoppers hid after hearing gunshots
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Multiple suspects took out guns during the fight inside the mall's food court, police said. The suspects started shooting at each other and the fight spilled out into the mall’s parking lot, police said.
A 51-year-old man who was not involved with the fight was hit in the upper body and taken to a hospital, police said.
Agley, one of the suspects, was shot and driven to a hospital by people he knew after the shooting, police said. As of Wednesday, he was in the hospital in police custody.
Customers in the food court described hearing gunshots before seeing people running.
“All of a sudden, everyone from the food court was running and screaming, and then we just heard five gunshots,” said Doris Morales, who was at the mall with her two daughters. “And then I just pushed my girls inside the Victoria’s Secret.”
One customer said they didn’t hear the shots but told News4 they were in a store when the gate lowered and customers were told to move to the back and take cover.
No shots were fired inside the mall, police said.
Officers searched the area with K-9 dogs shortly after 2 p.m. and found multiple guns, according to police. Multiple police agencies and a Fairfax County police helicopter responded.
Police initially detained Russell and Minas Hernandez during a traffic stop shortly after the shooting.
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